Victoria is far too demeaning to the people, such that I don’t see how they are going to behave more with more confidence and approach their dogs with calm energy once she leaves. During her training time the people have learned that everything they do it ignorant and wrong, and she correct them in exactly the way she says dogs should not be. She may be getting great results with the dogs while she is onsite, but how well are the people being prepared to make good decisions and recover from mistakes?

I do believe that Cesar over emphasizes humans having to be pack leaders. I think dogs understand that humans aren’t dogs, even if they learn that we should be respected and are top of the pecking order. I heard him say frequently that dogs should never have a pecking order of their own (my words), and I disagree with this. We always had a top dog we called the lieutenant. If the other dogs were misbehaving such as getting possessive over bone or getting too rough during play, we could yell at them and the lieutenant would hop in and back us up when the other dogs were too over excited to listen. If one of them did something like chew up a pillow, we could tell immediately when we walked in the door that someone had done something, because the lieutenant would already be looking guilty, but not so guilty that we thought that he had done the bad. But whenever I entered the space, I was ‘top dog’ and all dogs were expected to respect that. No different then when I go into the corral with the horses. If I want to be attentive to one of the horses, no horse had the right to get in my space, not even the herd boss.

I agree with Victoria that dogs should get more positive rewards, and that for the majority of dogs positive training is the best way to get loving and joyful results. But, just as I spanked my children when they did something really wrong or really dangerous, (and told them ‘I am going to hurt you before it does’, like reaching up to play with the pan on the gas stove got a slap on the hand), I am not against using physical correction with my dog if is going to kill a cat, which is serious to me. There is a difference between bad behavior and absolutely unacceptable.

In a perfect world, I would have my dog perfectly trained to drop whatever I told it to whenever I told it to, but life isn’t perfect, and neither am I. Far from it. I make mistakes with them which I then have to spend more time fixing the results of my poor behavior or my knee jerk emotional reaction and try to do better the next time.

If facing down Cujo in a dark alley, heck yeah, I want Cesar! As for who would I want coming in to my home to train me how to interact better with my dog? Cesar, except I’ve never really had a dog which was that dangerous. If I were sending my dog away for training and didn’t have to speak to her, I might choose Victoria, but I want my dog to want to please me, so I would rather work with Cesar, despite not accepting every single thing he says or does.

PIT BULLS ARE NOT VISCIOUS. The dogs that you saw were trained to fight, and were NOT human-agressive, as otherwise they would have attacked their trainers. search up “breed specific legislation” in your search bar.

BSL is BS!

Very nice, to-the-point, dog-focused comment. As you say, there is a very thin line between assertive and aggressive.

assertive [əˈsɜːtɪv]
adj
1. confident and direct in claiming one’s rights or putting forward one’s views
2. given to making assertions or bold demands; dogmatic or aggressive
~~[Free Dictionary]

Aggressive is also listed as a synonym of assertive.

It is great that you achieve leadership through food and the control of resources. As you say, no physical aversive techniques such as shock collars and alpha rolls are needed.

I have read all the posted comments with great interest.

I grew up with dogs. My father always taught me not to be afraid of them & I never have been. He also taught me to respect them. When I was 3 years old we went to a bungalow colony during the summer. There were several off-leash Dobermans that every one was afraid of. Until the day they saw tiny, little me running with them, ordering them around & telling them what to do. (With my dad there, of course).

I watch both The Dog Whisperer & It’s Me or the Dog. I use a combination of techniques gleaned from both shows. It depends on each individual dog what specific method I use at any given time. I’m not afraid to try something different.

Just a couple of examples:

One of my dogs (a relative newcomer to the city) has some major obsessions including squirrels. He pulls on the leash and makes this hideous whining, yipping, hysterical sound trying to get at a squirrel. The usual methods were not working (leash tug & release, food, etc.). He was out of his mind focused on the squirrel. So I tried something I’d never done before. I made an even louder, higher pitched & more annoying sound myself. This caused him to stop pulling on the leash, turn around & look at me. Once I’d stopped, he tried to continue with his obsession a couple of more times. Each time I repeated my performance. After the third time when he turned around, he sat down and looked at me. He was calm and then we continued our walk. Now when a squirrel incident starts I just make a loud, brief sound and change direction and then change direction again back to the way we were going in the first place. He follows with no problem. He also frequently ignores squirrels completely now. And the change didn’t take long at all.

Recently I had a dog (one of my occasional charges) for a very early morning walk. We went to Central Park during off leash time. Many owners pay little or no attention to what their dogs are doing. A group of dogs was getting over-excited in their play (which can lead to problems) so I called my charge over. He came as did a group of the over excited dogs. While my charge sat waiting patiently looking at me, the other dogs were barking at each other, trying to jump on me, growling, etc. I just let out with an “enough”. They all looked at me. I indicated that they should give me some space. They did. I told & signaled them to sit & be calm. They all did. By the way, I didn’t know these dogs nor they me. Then I asked the owners if it was all right if I gave their dogs a treat. They said yes. So I did since they were all waiting patiently. Then I leashed my charge & we calmly walked away.

I’ve also helped dogs that used to bark & growl at one other become best buds by taking them on a walk together. With me as their leader. Now they have play dates.

I am always the leader. I walk the dogs not the other way around. I’m the first to enter or exit – with them next to me or behind me. They also walk next to or behind me. We don’t go anywhere until they’re calm. I use patience and I am calm & assertive (this does NOT mean aggressive). I don’t panic, freak out or get angry when some kind of situation arises. And all of the dogs love me. As I do them. When we’ve met when they’re being walked by their owners they can’t wait to greet me. I get lots of licks and wagging tails.

I give treats only when the dog is calm and paying attention to me. (I almost always have treats with me). I give lots of affection & praise besides the treats. I don’t bully my animals nor do I coddle them. I expect them to give me respect and they do. And I give them respect. They also trust me. When I give a correction it’s all in the timing. I don’t hit dogs. But I do give them discipline. I give them lots of love & affection too. I talk to them and even sing to them!

All the dogs that live in my building love me. Even the ones I’ve never given a treat (allergies). I don’t ignore (simply turn away from) a dog trying to jump on me. I address it. I tell them to get down. They have to get down and be calm before I’ll give them attention & pet them & give belly rubs.

A lot of it goes back to the way I was reared. I was never hit or even really punished by my parents. There were rules. The reasons for rules were explained to me. They treated me with respect and love. They didn’t yell at me. I loved & respected them in return and I didn’t want to disappoint them. So I behaved.

Since dogs aren’t human you can’t really explain the rules to them but that doesn’t mean they don’t need rules.

As I said before, I use a combination of both Milan’s & Stilwell’s methods. But I do believe that the human must be the one in charge.

By the way, Cesar does not say to use a tight leash. He always says to use a relaxed leash!
I don’t care for Victoria Stilwell. I’m not talking about her methods.

Thanks for the great info Kevin. I will probably write an article about this after I do a bit more research.

Problems happen when wild animals and people interact.

The bears see the people as a food source and then they lose their fear of people. If a bear attacks a person then it has to be destroyed.

If it was a female that was destroyed and she had cubs then they will be trapped and be placed in a zoo for the rest of their lives.

Why is that?

It’s because the mother taught them a life lesson that people are prey and they don’t want the pattern to continue when the cubs become adults.

The behavior link gets broken and it isn’t passed down to the next generation of bears.

To avoid this type of danger with bears what do we do?

We keep a distance from bears and we don’t feed them.

It is the same way with stray dogs.

Avoid the dogs and keep a distance from them.

Food attracts hungry dogs.

Avoid bringing any food with you on a dog walk because they can smell it from a long distance away from you.

Food in a backpack would only attract a hungry dog and encourage it to come after you for a free meal.

Is that the behavior you want to reward?

Stray dogs will have you all figured out in just a few seconds.

If a stray dog has already approached you and your dog then it has no fear of you, your dog, your stick or riding crop.

The trick is keep a barrier distance between you and the stray dogs.

When you see a stray dog on the street it is probably going to be too busy smelling interesting things on the ground to notice you from a distance.

Take that moment to cross to the other side of the street or take a different path to avoid the stray dog.

A back pack would have something thick in it like a blanket in order to give the dog something to bite on in case it jumps up on you.

The best tactic is avoidance.

The best strategy is to know your neighborhood and where all the dangers are before you walk a dog.

Walk around the streets at 10 pm on summer night when people have their windows open in order to get some fresh air.

Blow a silent dog whistle and jingle some car keys as you walk by each house. The clinking sound of the keys makes a similar sound as the dog tags on a dog collar.

All the dogs in the neighborhood will sound off barking because they will think a dog is outside their house.

You can tell where most of the big bad dogs are by the sound of their bark and then you know which houses to avoid when walking your dog.

The best tool for protection is your brain.